Medomak Valley cheerleaders poured their heart and soul into their performance Saturday afternoon at the Augusta Civic Center and were rewarded with the 2011 Western Maine Class B championship. The regional title is the first for the Panthers.
Medomak performed a near perfect routine and scored 140.9 to beat out nearest competitor Leavitt by 4.7 points. The Panthers’ score was 14.5 points higher than at their Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference (KVAC) championship win on Jan. 17.
The top six teams in West B advance to the State Class B Championships, to be held Sat., Feb. 12 at Bangor Auditorium. Advancing to states are Medomak 140.9, Leavitt 136.2, Wells 134.4, Lisbon 129.6, Poland 128.2, and Mt. Valley 121.5.
The Panthers wore their blue and gold “Legend” cheering t-shirts while waiting for the results to be announced. Printed on the front vertically in big gold letters is “Legend,” with the letters that make up legend woven into the words of the slogan, “A legend in the making. You know the title is ours for the taking. When you look at the top, we’ll be standing alone. Our mission is simple, bring gold home.”
“They are words to our cheer, Bring Gold Home,” coach Rachel Coor said.
The Panthers did just that, winning the KVAC championships on Jan. 17 and the West B title on Jan. 29. The regional title is the third for Coach Coor, and the first for Medomak Valley cheerleaders. Medomak will now compete for State Class B Gold in Bangor. “I’m really excited for two weeks from today [for States],” Coor added.
“When watching them perform I was excited. I get a little bit crazy. Stunting is a big part of scoring. I started celebrating when the last stunt went up. Heather [Simmons] and I started to hoot and holler. I felt it was as good as they could have done their routine. I felt they could feel good no matter what they placed. I knew then that we had made States and that they had a lot to be happy about. This was a good routine,” Coor said.
At the coaches meeting before the winner was announced, coaches found out their individual scores. “We figured we could score 138. We thought we could max out at 138. I knew our score, but I didn’t know anyone else’s. I knew when we weren’t second that it was us. We just started celebrating,” Coor said.
“There are still a couple of things to work on. We made some motion mistakes. We had a one-point penalty on a tumbling error. We certainly can fix it for States and squeak out another point for States, Coor said.
Of her assistant coach Heather Simmons, Coor said, “She is a co-coach as much as she is an assistant coach. We think alike; sometimes I think we share the same brain. She steps in for me and is really good at cleaning up dance routines. We talk four to five times a day about what we’re going to do at practice. We’ve been best friends for 15 years. She was my volunteer assistant at Rockland, then my assistant. When I moved back [to Maine] and took the job at Medomak, she was the first person I talked to,” Coor said.
Medomak has qualified for States for two straight years. In 2008 they placed 17th; in 2009 in Coor’s first year coaching, they placed 8th and missed States by two. “The kids should feel really good about that,” Coor said of her team’s improvement.
Cheerleaders on Medomak Valley’s squad include Danielle Moshier, Brittany Alexander, Danica Bryant, Savannah Chamberlain, Chelsea Creamer, Taylor Pelkey, Chelsea Wedge, Jennifer Delano, Keslie Grady, Michaela Melody, Jessica Prescott, Mollie Strunk, Charlene Wilbur, Haley Mank, Lori Meservey, Lyndsey Miller, Jennica Smith and manager Elizabeth Robinson.
The Panthers lose just one cheerleader to graduation this year, senior captain Danielle Moshier. “She is the only one left who did not start with us. We have a really strong eighth grade group coming up next year. I am feeling good about the future,” Coor added.